Any Sufficiently Disguised Magic
by VioletLink7
Summary: Cassandra gets new/old allies, Morgana's smirk is immortal, and the author is going slightly insane from all these characters. Tales of a Bookwyrm Part 3
1. Cognitive Recalibration

**Cognitive Recalibration (They Hit Ezekiel Really Hard On The Head)**

"My friends," called Cassandra, standing up on a library table. "Now is the time; we will rise against the forces of darkness. There is no beast that cannot be slain, no army that will not be faced, together we will fight, and together, we will win!" What was she saying? She sounded like Arthur. Though, she supposed, that was probably because of her role as Prince Charming, a little detail that she was definitely going to laugh about later. From manservant to prince!

"Baird," whispered Stone. "Hey, Baird." The "princess" was batting her eyelashes prettily at Cassandra. She tried not to laugh because she knew Baird wasn't doing it of her own free will. The Libris Fabula's influence was a very strange sensation, and the extent of it amazed her. It took a lot of power to control Emrys. Some part of Cassandra felt bad that she'd destroyed one of the library's chairs for a makeshift sword, but it was hard to care a lot when there were highschoolers-turned-wolves clawing at her.

"Hey guys!" Cassandra called in excitement, "I'm actually pretty good at this." She'd been rubbish at swordplay as Merlin; score one for the Libris Fabula. One of the wolves squealed and fell.

 _While the villagers cowered,_ Cassandra heard the disembodied voice of an old man all around her. She could feel the magic practically dripping from the words. _The Princess, Prince, and Huntsman—_

 _The wolves that were hunting them were suddenly blind,_ chimed in Ezekiel's voice. What he said came true and the wolves now floundered around trying to find them.

 _The wolves hunt your friends,_ came the old man's voice, _they find them…the wolves kill everyone._ The wolves rushed Cassandra, Baird, and Stone. She was sure she was about to die…

 _In mine it only looked like they died,_ a little girl's voice rang in her ears, _because the Huntsman is really a Knight of the Round Table, and they're the best there ever was! The princess is King Arthur in disguise and the prince is really Merlin_ —y _ou can't kill Merlin!_

If only that girl knew how right she was. Cassandra was practically jumping inside; she felt a soft humming in her veins, the distinct feeling of magic she had been missing so much ever since she regained her memories. Those wolves didn't stand a chance now; she gathered a ball of magic in her palm, a simple spell meant to frighten the wolves away. They were normal people controlled by the book, after all.

 _And using their combined skill, they chased the wolves away! Except for the head wolf, he's forced to pay for his crimes…but he has to eat green Jell-O. Forever._ Cassandra and company peered around a bookshelf to see the sheriff on the floor, surrounded by green Jell-O cups.

"I don't even know where these came from," he lamented.

 _The end._

-o-

"Anyway," Baird said, "that's why so many crazy things have been happening." The sheriff looked completely flabbergasted.

"In fact," came Ezekiel's voice, "you might wanna give everyone in town a pass on the last couple days." Jones brought the sheriff's daughter with him, looking much, much better now that the Libris Fabula wasn't sucking away her life force. The sheriff lit up and hugged his little girl.

"Jaime," he smiled. "How are you out of bed?"

"Jaime's feeling a lot better," said Ezekiel, "right, kid?"

"Right, dad," said Jaime. "I am."

"This can't be real," the sheriff said. He looked up at Ezekiel, "What did you do?"

"I think this is one of those times when we say 'and they lived happily ever after' and we go our separate ways," replied Ezekiel. Everyone but Cassandra began to walk back to the Annex door.

"But first," said Cassandra, kneeling down in front of Jaime, "I just wanted to say thank you. You have no idea what you've done for me." Cassie's eyes turned molten gold for just a second, and she slipped a little glass rose into Jaime's hand. Jaime's eyes widened, and Cassie winked, then followed the other Librarians and Guardian.

-o-

Through the door they walked, to see Jenkins with a pile of very, very old books. He waved at them.

"A—Are those—" began Stone.

"Yes. Thompson Diedre's arcane book collection, I decided it likely better they come with us. Who knows what else is…" Jenkins trailed off, picked up a rather heavy tome from his left. "I think Cassandra might be particularly interested in this one." She took the book from him, immediately recognizing the cover.

"Is this…?" she asked, Jenkins nodded. She had to open it to be sure but…right there. Merlin's notes littered the pages of the spellbook Gaius had given him. It was her spellbook. And now with her magic back because of the Libris Fabula, she could actually use the spells within.

"What's—" Stone cut off. He clutched his head in pain, Baird doing the same, and both crumpled to the floor. Cassandra ran to his side while Ezekiel checked on Eve. The moment Cassandra knelt, placing her hand on Jacob's shoulder, the pain stopped. He looked up at her.

"M—Merlin?" he asked, eyes wide and pleading.

"What did you just say?" Cassandra asked, breathless. Could Stone be one of the three Santa had told her about? Then did that mean the other two…Cassie immediately ran to Eve's side, hand on her shoulder. Eve, too, quit clutching her head and looked at Cassandra like it was the first time she'd seen her. She, however, smacked Cassie upside the head.

"Ow! Baird!"

"'Greatest wizard to ever live,' huh?" Baird snapped. "Eve remembers growing up hearing stories of you, the smack was for lying, you dollophead."

"Hey! That's my word," Cassie said automatically. She froze, realizing only one person in the whole of history would ever call her that. _"Arthur?"_ She didn't wait for a response, she threw her arms around Eve, around Arthur, determined to hold her until someone proved this wasn't a dream.

"'Ey, mate, you just gonna ignore me over here?" said Jacob, in a way that sounded nothing like Stone but entirely like a certain knight.

"Gwaine?" Cassandra and Eve asked. Jacob nodded and Cassie amended her earlier resolve, released Eve, and clung to him.

"I'm not alone," she whispered, tears falling on Jacob's shoulder. "Santa told me I wasn't, but I don't think I fully believed him, please, please tell me this isn't a dream."

"It's not a dream, Merlin," Jacob soothed, hugging her tightly. "And by the way, I'm so sorry I didn't trust you. What you did…that was before you remembered, right?" Cassandra nodded into his neck.

"I'll never ever betray you again," she sobbed.

"You're more loyal than any knight ever was, I know you won't."

"Uh," chimed Ezekiel, "would someone like to clue me in here?"

"I'd like an explanation as well," said Jenkins. They all just stared at each other. Where do you even begin with something like this? Cassandra looked at Jenkins.

"Oh! Galahad I didn't mean…Of course I had you, and Kilgarrah and Aithusa, so I wasn't entirely alone, but this is different. This is Arthur and Gwaine! They're Arthur and Gwaine, Galahad!" Cassandra bounced in front of him, eyes shining. There wasn't anyone Merlin was closer to than those two, except perhaps Gaius.

"My king," Jenkins knelt before Eve. "Welcome back to the land of the living."

"Did you just say Galahad?" she asked Cassandra, then turned to Jenkins, "You're Galahad? But I thought—"

"That I was really old?" Jenkins laughed. "I am, there's a long story involving accidental magic…"

"Still seriously in the dark over here," called Ezekiel. Cassandra had forgotten he was even there, but if Baird and Stone were Arthur and Gwaine, then surely Ezekiel was the third person Santa had told her about?

"Santa told me there were three...I think you both got your memories back because of the power of the Libris Fabula; Ezekiel probably doesn't remember because Jaime never changed his archetype," Cassandra explained. "It would only make sense for him to be the third."

"You think Jones of all people was a knight?" Stone asked.

"Not necessarily, he could be anyone, we don't know what the Old Religion's purpose was in bringing you all back. Though it's possible you're just here because of me. Most of my soul never died," said Cassandra. Eve and Jacob gave her a look. "Ever wonder why Excalibur was sentient?"

"Well you certainly have a lot to explain," said Baird, "but what do we do about Jones? Just knock the memories loose?" She grabbed Merlin's spellbook off the table and hit Ezekiel in the back of the head with it, mostly jokingly.

"Ow! Why would you—" Ezekiel cut off, clutching his head. It didn't last, however, and he looked like a deer caught in headlines when he looked up. "Okay. I'm going to say something you'll probably never hear from me again. I'm truly, sincerely, sorry for everything I did to you.

"I'm Mordred."

"Mordred? Mordred of all people?" asked Baird/Arthur. "You killed me!"

"You killed me too!" Jones/Mordred replied. Cassie and Stone just looked at each other; they'd both been killed by Morgana. Their grudges against Mordred solely involved his defection to the witch's side. Only Merlin knew that he had sided with her before, as a child.

Mordred's loyalties were never concrete, but Cassie believed that for all his showboating, Ezekiel was firmly loyal to the Library. She stepped between the bickering knights and placed a hand on Ezekiel's shoulder.

"You've been hurt, you've suffered unforgivable losses, but you've hurt us in return," Cassandra spoke kindly. "Can we let the things we did to each other in the past stay in the past?" She directed this last part to all three of them. Cassandra was so excited to have friends from her past with her, but she didn't want those memories to tear apart the friendship they had built here and now. Even with Ezekiel, even with _Mordred_. They all nodded _._ Eve and Jacob shook hands with Ezekiel, a sign they'd at least try and forgive him. Mordred vowed to do the same.

Cassandra's eyes suddenly lit up and she rounded on Ezekiel, "Can you still do magic? I couldn't until Jamie used the Libris Fabula, 'cause my magic's repairing the ley lines, and yeah I don't have all of it back yet but any magic is better than no magic!"

"You're starting to sound like Flynn, mate," said Ezekiel. He looked at a small, locked box on the Annex's center table. " _Tospringe_." The lock disengaged and the top popped up with a click.

"That is going to be a lot of fun," Ezekiel concluded. Baird and Stone were gaping, open-mouthed at him.

"You have magic?" asked Baird.

"Seriously? I was a druid, of course I had magic. I'm not sure why you thought I didn't, but I did appreciate not burning at the stake," said Ezekiel.

"Sorry Arthur, but there is a lot you didn't know about Camelot," Cassandra said. The king really was ignorant of just how much magic there was in his kingdom. "Oh, I should probably mention you didn't kill the Great Dragon, the egg from the Tomb of Askenar survived and hatched and...well, they're both still alive. They attended the Conclave."

"...What?"

* * *

 _This is the first two-shot of the series, because the_ And the Fables of Doom _part is not long enough on its own, but it also doesn't connect well enough (I decided on about a two, maybe two and a half week time gap) to the_ And the Rule of Three _part to be a oneshot. Everything's finished, though, so I'll upload the second chapter right away._

 _-Vi_

Alternate Titles by L:

 _Merlin Annoys Arthur Even Before She's Arthur Again_

 _Time To Get Over Killing Each Other_


	2. Any Sufficiently Disguised Magic

**Any Sufficiently Disguised Magic**

"Hey, Eve…" Cassandra began, "is that who I think it is?" They were standing amidst a crowd of overzealous parents and genius kids. The Clippings Book's latest article had sent them to the sixth annual Chicagoland STEM Fair. At present, all of their attention was focused on the stage.

"That depends, do you think it's my psychotic, supposed-to-be-dead sister?" Eve asked.

"Yup," said Cassandra. "Her hair's shorter." And it was; Morgana's hair was cropped in a tight, curly bob. She looked more like the old Morgana, the beautiful, well-kept lady of Camelot, rather than the insane priestess she became.

"Sure looks like her," said Ezekiel.

"How is she alive?" asked Jacob.

"Well, Galahad's alive," Ezekiel pointed out.

"But that was my fault. I certainly didn't cast any accidental semi-immortality spells on Morgana," Cassandra huffed. Three pairs of eyes left Morgana to settle squarely on Cassandra, accompanying looks of shock on their faces.

"You can do what now?" Jacob asked. He shrugged and turned back to the witch on stage, rather than the one next to him. "You know what, no, you're Merlin. I believe you can do just about anything. So what do we do, walk up and reintroduce ourselves?"

"What if she was just reincarnated like us?" asked Eve. It seemed possible to her that Lucinda McCabe didn't know she was Morgana. They hadn't known who they were, after all.

"Except we're completely different. Different faces, names, personalities, genders..." Cassie trailed off. "Anyway, look at her. She's exactly the same, down to that infuriating smirk." It was clear to Cassandra that the rules of reincarnation did not include looking exactly the same as a previous life.

"So, what, she's somehow immortal? Can magic—magic besides yours—do that?" asked Ezekiel. "The druids always taught me that no spell can make you totally immortal." Cassie winced. No spell, certainly, but not no magic…

"In theory she could extend her age…"

"I vote we don't tell her. We've got the upper hand right now," said Eve. "I mean, she has to be behind it, yeah?"

"Unless she's changed in the past fifteen-hundred years, definitely," Cassandra said. She probably had changed, but Cassie had a feeling that change had more her even more selfish and cold. She might be the same if it hadn't been for the Library, and her only half-awareness as Excalibur. Immortality was lonely. She suspected that was the real reason Jenkins was so closed off.

-o-

"Hi there, I'm Lucinda McCabe," Morgana said, walking up to them. "Are you all parents or family members?" The Librarians stared.

"Uh hi," said Jacob, extending his hand, "how are ya?" Morgana smiled. "Good, We're the Librarians." Cassandra felt a tiny little magic tingle as she always did when they used that excuse.

"Oh! You're the judges from the county library, welcome. I'm so glad you were able to find it okay with the directions. Your welcome packs are over there with Mrs. Shweager. So, Enjoy." Morgana walked away, not seeming the list bit suspicious of them.

"Someday that cover story is not gonna fly," Baird said. Cassandra giggled. She was almost entirely certain there was a very old spell in place that caused people to come up with some story in their minds that explained why a librarian would need to be present. "Alright, split up. Find something…magical."

-o-

"You were one of these kids," Ezekiel observed. Cassandra's excitement hadn't faded one iota since their arrival at the STEM fair a few hours ago.

"I don't mean to brag, but I was a monster!" Cassandra laughed, making "monster claws" with her fingers. "I had this whole wall full of trophies."

"And I bet you still own every single one of them," Ezekiel said. Cassandra's smiled faded.

"Nope. No, um," Cassandra said, "you know, things change."

"And some things never change," Ezekiel said, nodding to a trio of goth teenagers. They were laughing and making fun of the science geeks, even pushing someone's books from their hands. Cassandra scowled.

"Even after fifteen centuries," said Cassie. Bullies had probably been around since the beginning of human history. Hell, even Arthur had been a complete bully once upon a time. Boy was she glad he was over _that_. He was even better after being reincarnated, too, though sometimes she saw the pride of a king leak through.

"Humans never really mature, do they?" said Ezekiel. He kept walking, towards a Newton's cradle on a nearby table. He grabbed one dropped it, but the ball on the other side didn't do what he had expected —instead, it floated upward and stayed there. "Hey, is that supposed to do that?"

Cassandra opened her mouth, and then the fire alarm went off. People were screaming and getting away from a certain booth. So, naturally, they ran towards said booth. They found Baird and Stone already there.

"Well, is that magical enough for ya?" asked Stone. They all just stared as a Papier-mâché volcano spat out real lava.

-o-

"Eve says Leonard's not involved in whatever Morgana's doing," Cassandra told Ezekiel, who was playing with a model of a futuristic train.

"A hundred contestants, twice as many spectators, really narrows things down," Ezekiel complained. "Are we sure she isn't working alone?" Of course, he knew first-hand that Morgana preferred lackeys to dirty work. He'd been one of those lackeys, much to his shame. Like hell he'd ever admit to being wrong about Arthur, though.

"Whether she is or not, she's at the STEM fair for a reason. Morgana doesn't do anything for kicks," Cassie said. "We need to move methodically through all of the displays and find one that doesn't belong." Ezekiel finally put down the controller.

"Or," he said, "we could follow my hunch."

"Hunch? You know, normally I'd reject such a non-scientific way of thinking," Cassie said, "but Camelot and Arthur were saved on a hunch more than a few times. Actually, I think I worked on hunches more often than logic!"

"Well, never thought I'd say Merlin's the more reasonable one here," Ezekiel said. Cassandra laughed.

"You know, that's the exact opposite of what Kilgarrah said."

"Who's—nevermind, he must not be any fun."

"…What's that supposed to mean?"

-o-

"That?" Cassandra asked Ezekiel. "That's a Newton's cradle, it's an exercise in conservation of momentum."

"I didn't sense any magic from it, but it was acting weird right before the volcano," Ezekiel said. It was still a bit weird to hear Ezekiel Jones say things like that, even though she'd been tutoring him in magic for a couple of weeks. "I figured it was as good a lead as any, and you're far better at magic than I am."

"Oh, I rather doubt it has any importance," came a voice from behind them.

"Huh," Cassandra said.

"You're out of the Annex," Ezekiel said.

"Yes, I was just going to stand around all day waiting for you to call, and then I remembered: I have free will," Jenkins deadpanned. "Besides, a science fair?"

"As I was just about to say," Cassandra interrupted. "I don't sense any magic in the Newton's cradle at all. I don't think it's ever been used in a spell."

"Alright, but this last ball here," Ezekiel persisted, "right before the volcano, it was all floaty-like."

"Looks normal now," said Jenkins. Ezekiel picked up the last ball in the cradle and dropped it. As soon as it hit, two passing teenagers fell over, as if something collided with them.

"Huh," said Jenkins. "Magic is rewriting local reality. The laws of physics in this auditorium are starting to bend." Jenkins made a motion, as if bending something, to emphasize his point.

"So this thing _is_ magic?" Ezekiel asked.

"No," Cassandra said. She closed her eyes, concentrating. "I didn't notice it before, but the entire auditorium is covered in a…well, a blanket of magic." Cassie opened her eyes, grinning at them. "The cradle's just a kind of warning. The feel of this magic…it's like the Isle of the Blessed! It feels like many people and yet one magic."

"In that case, I'd say you're looking for a coven," said Jenkins, "a group of magic users working together."

"How do we find a coven?" asked Cassandra. That wasn't something Merlin had really dealt with.

"Three. Look for the pattern of three."

-o-

"So, are you familiar with the quote, 'Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic'?" asked Jenkins. They were back in the Annex, looking at an app they'd found on a contestant's, Amy Meyer's, phone. Cassandra was one hundred percent certain that it was actually a spell, though she couldn't tell much about it from the surface level.

"It turns out," continued Jenkins after Eve had nodded, "any sufficiently disguised magic is indistinguishable from technology. That is a wish fulfillment spell."

"It's disguised as one of those brain-trainer things, the Advanced Learning Buddy," explained Ezekiel."You know, say how many words rhyme with 'mash' in under a minute, your IQ goes up twenty points. It distracts you with the test and at each level it prompts you to focus on a goal."

"Structurally, it's witchcraft," said Jenkins, "without all of the eye of newt nonsense."

"Right, Morgana's somehow taken a powerful magical spell and turned it into an extremely advanced app," Ezekiel said. "And what's more, Amy's never used it."

-o-

Eve and Cassandra opened the door to the Annex to see what Jenkins was freaking out about, and why he'd asked both of them to come. Their jaws dropped as they saw an unexpected visitor inside. Morgana.

"Hi, there," said Eve. She had honestly no clue how to address the situation. They'd had the upper hand so far with Morgana not knowing they were there but now…could they continue to hide it?

"Oh, hi, this is amazing," said Morgana. She was still using that sickeningly sweet customer service voice. She probably hadn't realized yet who they were, then. Good.

"How did she end up here?" Eve asked Jenkins.

"She found the Back Door," Jenkins replied, "whether by accident or design, I am unsure."

"You know, everything's gotten much, much clearer now," said Morgana. She waved her arms and their table split in half so she could walk straight to them. Eve and Cassandra crossed their arms. "Huh, I was expecting more surprise than that. Now how is it you would have guessed that sweet little Lucinda McCabe has magic? Or do you just have really good poker faces?"

"You tell us, Morgana Pendragon," said Cassandra. Morgana raised on eyebrow.

"Well, isn't this interesting? How is it you know my true name? None of the legends have ever gotten it right," Morgana purred. "Morgan le Fay does have a certain ring to it, however."

"Why should we lay out all our cards when clearly you are hiding yours?" asked Eve.

"Oh, but you know my name, shouldn't I get the pleasure of knowing yours?" Morgana returned.

"Eve Baird, Cassandra Cillian, now what are you doing to those children?" Eve wasn't a fan of waxing poetic. Which was probably why Merlin wrote all of Arthur's speeches.

"I'm sure by now you've found one of my apps. Aren't they lovely? A word to the wise, I'd stay here for the next few minutes if I were you. It's all about to begin, the feedback loop. All this magic flying around, the rule of three coming to punish all those naughty little boys and girls. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

"Colonel, shoot her," ordered Jenkins.

"Don't tell me who to shoot, Galahad," spat Eve. Really, though, she felt much more like Arthur right now.

"Oh, she knows his name! Well, thank you," Morgana smiled.

"Oh, I will shoot you, but not because he says so," said Eve. "What happens to those kids when the backlash begins?"

"She is the most powerful witch on the planet," protested Jenkins. From her position by the door, Cassandra scoffed. "One of the most evil creatures—"

"Hold your tongue," called Morgana, power in her voice. Jenkins gagged like his throat was closing up. Cassandra reacted. She pushed Eve to the side, magically, and countered Morgana's spell on Jenkins.

"Most powerful witch on the planet, huh? Shall we test that theory?"

"Ooo, this just gets more interesting by the minute!" Morgana smirked. "You must be exceptionally powerful to counter one of my spells. Who are you really, Cassandra Cillian?"

"That's unimportant. Now what have you done to those children?" Cassie demanded. She let her voice drip with power in the way only a high caliber of sorcerer can. With enough excess magic, one can control the way their voice is perceived by others. Not in actual sound, but in feeling, in the unconscious perception of someone's intention.

"Oh I imagine it's terribly important, but fine, if that's how you want to play this. I never did anything to anyone, that's the scam. Put magic in the hands of mortals and they'll inevitably destroy each other. I just sit back and wait for the rule of three to kick out it's backlash."

"You don't do anything for a cheap thrill, what's your endgame?"

"All that magic? All that destruction? I just skim off the top, recharge my powers, stay young."

"So that's how you did it. You're not immortal, you're a succubus."

"My! Such crude monsters."

"Cassandra we don't have time for this," Eve interrupted.

"Actually, I have an idea. Morgana, be a good girl and stay right here," Cassandra said. She cast an extremely powerful protection spell on Morgana. It was, in fact, more effective at trapping something than any cage spell she'd ever learned. Sometime through the centuries, people had added it and others to her newly recovered spellbook. Of course, Merlin had added a bit to the spell to increase its power even further. She'd gotten pretty good at creating spells in the last few weeks, though she'd been reading up on it ever since becoming a Librarian.

"How are you doing this?" bellowed Morgana, fists pounding on an invisible force. "No one is powerful enough to trap me! No one but... _Merlin!"_ Cassandra smirked and gestured for Eve to follow her out the door. _"Merlin!"_

"The twenty-seven kids," Cassandra explained as they went to find Jacob and Ezekiel, "they're linked by magic. The rule of three can find them anywhere, so we have to protect them here."

"And how, exactly, do you propose we do that?" asked Eve.

"With a faraday cage; a magic one. Energy can't get into or out of it," Cassandra answered.

"We don't have time to construct something like that," Jacob butt in, having overheard as they walked up.

"No," Cassie agreed, "Morgana did that for us." They all followed the erratic little witch as she ran to Amy Meyer's booth and started throwing things off the table.

"Hey! Hey!" yelled Amy's mother. "What are you doing? Are you crazy?" Cassandra pulled the tablecloth off and threw it unceremoniously behind her.

"You were assigned this booth, this table, weren't you?" Asked Cassie, gesturing around them.

"Yeah we're all assigned our booths by the McCabe Foundation..." Amy replied. "Why? Oh..." Amy trailed off and squatted down with Cassandra.

"Stone look at this, five legs on a round table," Cassandra observed. "It's a pentagram."

"Morgana wanted to keep Amy in the fair; longer you're in the more hostility'd be thrown at ya," said Jacob. "More backlash, better harvest." Cassandra was running all around the table as he spoke.

"So we need to take the legs off the table, spread them out, then get everyone inside the pentagram," said Cass. She was waving and wiggling and speaking far more quickly than usual. It was hard to tell if she was freaking out, excited, or maybe a bit of both. Merlin had never been this frantic, and it made the Gwaine side of Jacob's brain chuckle.

"And you think that'll work?" asked Jacob. Cassandra scoffed.

"Of course it'll work," she said, "between me, Mordred, and the app, we can supercharge it enough to protect these kids from anything. Do you think you can map out the pentagram?" Now it was Jacob's turn to scoff.

"I was a surveyor for ten years, I can estimate distance like a tachymeter," Jacob called as he walked away.

"Ezekiel!" Cassandra turned all-of-a-sudden. "You've just been standing there, but we need more phones. One for Eve, Jacob, and...oh, there's only four of us."

"No," cut in Amy, "five. You have me."

"No they most certainly do not have you!" yelled Amy's mother.

"You never used the app for bad," Cass smiled at Amy, as if seeing her for the first time. Amy had turned down the temptation to use magic to win. Cassandra instantly liked her.

"Look, I don't know what's going on here but you are trying to get us—"

"Mom, stop!" interrupted Amy. "Mom. Stop. It's me, not us. It's my life." Amy turned her attention to Cassandra. "Magic's real?"

"Magic's real," Cassie confirmed. Something about that simple statement filled her entire being with warmth. Magic wasn't just real, it was her, and she could use it freely in this modern age. Well, there was still the pesky business of keeping it secret from the larger population, but no one would execute her for being a sorceress. That alone was enough for now.

"Awesome," Amy smiled, taking off her jacket.

"Okay, let's break this table! Jones, get two more phones," Cassandra ordered. She, Eve, and Amy turned the table over in order to break off the legs. She couldn't help but wonder what Morgana was doing right now. Was her spell holding? It should, but you never knew with Morgana.

-o-

"Okay, final x is on the stage," said Jacob with a table leg in each hand.

"They're not all inside the pentagram," said Cassandra. "If they're not all in the middle it won't work." Amy hurried up to the podium on stage.

"Attention everyone," Amy began, "I'm Amy Meyer and the electrical disturbances you're seeing are just a side effect of my last minute project, a five-sided Tesla coil field. One hundred thousand volts will soon pass through this room. Now, there is a downside to my awesome experiment: if you're not all in the center of the room, you may be electrocuted. Sorry."

"No way! That's impossible," called another contestant.

"I'm Amy Meyer," she said with confidence. "I've won every ribbon, every medal, every trophy you've wanted since we were five years old, do you really think I'm bluffing?"

"So, center of the room," said the student. "Right." As she stepped forward, the rest of the gathered crowd followed suit. Amy jumped off the stage to head to her designated spot on the pentagram.

"Hey," Jacob stopped her. "Good job, kid. You'd have made a fine knight." Amy had no way of knowing how high that praise really was, but she smiled anyway. Cassandra thought that perhaps she was just a little giddy to be making her own decisions for once.

"Go to your spot," Cassie smiled. And then they were running, Jacob throwing a table leg at Eve as she headed toward the stage. They had to be in position, apps in hand (for the three who weren't sorcerers), in just a matter of seconds. The blowback could reach its peek at any moment.

They all held their pieces high above their heads. A pentagram-shaped burst of energy hit each point over the displays, blocking out the magical feedback.

-o-

"Well, time to face Morgana," Eve said. She took a deep, calming breath and opened the Annex door. Morgana was exactly where they'd left her (though she had apparently conjured up a chair within the shield), and Jenkins was drinking tea on the stairs.

"Oh, finally," said Jenkins. "She has been incessant."

"He exaggerates," Morgana purred. She turned her gaze to Cassandra. "So, Sir Galahad here tells me you really are that skinny little servant reincarnated. You're even less threatening than he was."

"Then it should be easier than ever to trick people like you into underestimating me," Cassandra replied. "You underestimated me 'til the very end, you weren't expecting me to be there at all, right? You tried to take my magic away, but I can never lose what I am."

"I still killed you," Morgana sneered.

"Yes, well, I inadvertently created and gave to Arthur the one weapon that could kill me and you," Cassandra said, "my mistake." Her tone was so casual, you'd think they were swapping gardening tips. "You know, we still have it, and you're the one in the magic bubble, so I'd be a bit nicer if I were you."

"Sorry, Merlin, what weapon?" asked Eve. Cassandra turned her head to the colonel, cocking it in confusion.

"Excalibur," she said. "Surely you've realized it was magical all along, right?"

"I assumed the legends were warped because of the time your magic spent bonded to it," said Eve. "What do you mean you created Excalibur? All that true king stuff was a lie?!" Cassandra looked sheepish. Eve just glared.

"Whoops. Uh, guess I have some explaining to do," Cassie laughed nervously. "But later, we're kinda busy with the _second_ most powerful sorceress in the world." She placed a heavy emphasis on the word "second" just to remind Morgana who had the upper hand here.

"So, you're Arthur, then?" asked Morgana. Cassie thought she must have been surprised behind that infuriatingly neutral mask. "Then the legends of your return at the world's darkest hour were true. How interesting."

"You're not still bent on killing me are you?" asked Eve.

"Oh no, not in particular, I already did that once."

"Technically," Ezekiel butt in, "I killed Arthur." Morgana's head whipped in his direction.

"Ooo, little Mordred's here too, is he?" Morgana said. She smiled and turned towards Stone. "So are you one of those bull-headed knights of Arthur's? Maybe Leon? He was smart enough to be a Librarian. Not like that peasant Gwaine." Stone grit his teeth.

"I'll have you know, that I was never a peasant, not that it matters much. I've always hated nobility," Jacob spat. He could really use a beer right now.

"Oh-hoh, touched a nerve. Must be Gwaine then. How cute," Morgana said. Cassandra moved between Jacob and Morgana, but turned to Eve.

"What should we do with her? It's not like we have a dungeon in the Annex," Cassandra said.

"Can't you just…keep her in there or…something?" asked Eve.

"Sure, but do you really want her constantly heckling us?"

"What makes you so sure you can trap me indefinitely?" Morgana questioned. Cassandra stared at her, as if to say "I'm Merlin, I can do whatever the hell I want." It wasn't a completely true statement, she had limits, but she could certainly keep Morgana imprisoned for a good long time.

"You know," came Jenkins' voice from the stairs. He'd placed down his tea cup and was fingering an old, brass pocket watch. "I've come across spells with which a magical creature can be imprisoned inside of an object. It's a rather cruel thing to do, but, for her…a portable dungeon, perhaps?" The Librarians and Guardian smiled.

* * *

 _Now this story took a hell of a lot of work. It took me forever to figure out how to change up these episodes, so I really hope you like it. They were some of my favorites of the season so honestly I had no idea what to do! I had lots of fun writing Morgana, and I hope I can get a good handle on now four meshed personalities with Merlin/Cassandra, Arthur/Eve, Gwaine/Jacob, and Mordred/Ezekiel. Ezekiel's identity took a fun little journey throughout development. I considered everyone from Gwen, to Leon, to Gilli before settling on Mordred. I think he's a very interesting character, and turning him into Ezekiel has so many possibilities! I knew from the start that Eve would be Arthur and Jacob Gwaine, though. Too perfect._

 _-Vi_

Originally I was going to talk about how unfair it was that Arthur when from hot blond in his last life to Hot Blonde in his next, but that spiraled into my weakness for dangerous female characters and so instead I erased it all and I'm just going to say that I really like this chapter and I haven't actually watched this episode yet, so whoops. Lots of fun naming it though!

~L

Alternate Titles by L:

 _Succubus Is Such a Crude Term_

 _Sneaky Table Pentagram_

 _Portable Pocket Dungeon_

 _Technically I Killed Arthur_

 _That Skinny Little Servant Reincarnated_

 _Jacob Could Use A Beer Right Now_

 _The Second Most Powerful Sorceress In The World_

 _Polly Pocket Dungeon_

 _Cuz U Be On That Phone_

 _Amy Meyer Isn't Bluffing_

 _Maybe Lock The Back Door_

 _A Suprisingly Dangerous Newton's Cradle_

 _Merlin Was A STEM Kid_

 _Why Do People Keep Letting Librarians In_

 _Eve's Psychotic, Supposed-To-Be-Dead Sister Shows Up_

 _Morgana's Smirk Is Immortal_


End file.
